Multiple mini-interviews predict clerkship and licensing examination performance

OBJECTIVE: The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) has previously been shown to have a positive correlation with early medical school performance. Data have matured to allow comparison with clerkship evaluations and national licensing examinations. METHODS: Of 117 applicants to the Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University who had scores on the MMI, traditional non-cognitive measures, and undergraduate grade point average (uGPA), 45 were admitted and followed through clerkship evaluations and Part I of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE). Clerkship evaluations consisted of clerkship summary ratings, a clerkship objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and progress test score (a 180-item, multiple-choice test). The MCCQE includes subsections relevant to medical specialties and relevant to broader legal and ethical issues (Population Health and the Considerations of the Legal, Ethical and Organisational Aspects of MedicineCLEO/PHELO]). RESULTS: In-programme, MMI was the best predictor of OSCE performance, clerkship encounter cards, and clerkship performance ratings. On the MCCQE Part I, MMI significantly predicted CLEO/PHELO scores and clinical decision-making (CDM) scores. None of these assessments were predicted by other non-cognitive admissions measures or uGPA. Only uGPA predicted progress test scores and the MCQ-based specialty-specific subsections of the MCCQE Part I. DISCUSSION: The MMI complements pre-admission cognitive measures to predict performance outcomes during clerkship and on the Canadian national licensing examination.